Highly Contagious
by WitchGirl
Summary: Chapter three up (finally!) Sorry, I was busy writing a few other stories. Four will be up soon. A new virus is not the only thing circling around the ER that is annoying people...
1.

Highly Contagious  
Chapter One: Incorrect Assumptions  
  
Summery: A new virus is not the only thing circling around the ER that is annoying people...  
  
Disclaimer: You better know that I (sadly) own no characters. I know that secretly, we all wished that we did, but unfortunately, we do not. However, I do own Kayla Jameson. Thank you for your cooperation in learning to accept this new idea.  
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"I have no idea what this could be! It has all the symptoms of Hantavirus and, well..."  
"And what?" Mark asked, waiting for a reply from Abby.  
"Heh, well, this may sound strange, but also smallpox!"   
"Smallpox?" Mark said, incredulously, "Abby, there's no such thing any more! It was eradicated by Edward Jenner I don't remember how many years ago! How could it come back now? And why is it mixed with the symptoms of Hantavirus?"  
"I didn't say it *was* Smallpox *or* Hantavirus! I said it had the symptoms of both diseases and I have no idea if it is contagious or not!" Abby responded.  
"It might be, so you might want to put the patient in isolation..." Abby opened her mouth to object, but he walked off.  
"You don't even know who the patient is, Mark!" she sighed, shook her head and left.  
  
"Dr. Benton, have you seen Malucci?" Kerry asked him, flipping through some files.  
"Uh... yeah, Abby's seeing him..."  
"Seeing him?" Kerry queried, suspiciously looking up from her files.  
"Yeah. Said he wasn't feeling too good..." Peter said, casually.  
"I wonder what's going on..."  
  
"Abby, Kerry's looking for you!" Peter said when he passed her in the hall.  
"Just a minute, I have to go talk to Dave!" she said.  
"Uh, she wants you to see that patient... complaining of fever and nausea..."  
"Kayla?" Abby asked, stopping to look at him in alarm, "Why? What happened?" she demanded, nervously. Peter looked at her, suspiciously.  
"Yeah, Kayla... Nothing's happened, she just wanted to know if you've seen her lately..."  
"Yeah, yeah, saw her a few minutes ago, did anyone else?" she asked.  
"What do you mean?" Peter replied.  
"I mean, did anyone else see her?" Abby said, impatiently.  
"No... She's your patient. Well, I mean, you and Carter's..."  
"Carter!" she said suddenly, dropping some papers.  
"What are those?" Peter asked, helping her pick them up. When he did, he notice the words 'Hantavirus' and 'Smallpox' along with 'lethal, 'contagious' and, to his horror, 'Malucci.'  
"Results," she answered, "Dave and Kayla's results. One very contagious disease, and a flue case. I have to find Carter. Where is he?"  
"With Kayla... Abby, who has this... disease?" but Abby was already jogging off. She called back the name of the patient, but Benton didn't hear.  
"Damn," he said, "I have to talk to Kerry."  
  
"So you see, Mrs. Jameson, when Abby gets back with the results to your daughter's tests, we will be able to learn more," Carter spoke to the mother of the patient. She nodded.  
"It's not that serious is it? I mean, she claims it's only the flue or something, but I think it's more..."  
"And your suspicions may be correct, but for Kayla's sake, I hope they aren't."  
"As do I, Dr. Carter, as do I," she smiled, weakly. Abby ran into the room.  
"Carter? The results are in."  
  
"What?" Kerry stared at Peter, "Are you saying that Dave's contagious?"   
"And in serious trouble!" Peter added.  
"Oh, he's always in trouble whether it be health wise, or with me!" Kerry said.  
"You know, that would be funny any other time but now!" Peter said, "Dave needs our support!"  
"Sure, Ok, go in and talk to him!" Kerry said. Peter nodded and went to the room Dave was supposed to be in.  
When he got there, he saw Dave sitting down in a chair, is back to him, looking out the window.  
"Dave?" he called, tentatively. Dave's head turned. He looked fine.  
"Yeah?" he said.  
"Did Abby talk to you? About what's wrong with you?" Peter asked. Dave sighed.  
"Yeah. I was hoping for a few days off, maybe, but I know Weaver would never let that happen when all I got is something like this!" Peter stared at him, shocked.  
"I'm sure Dr. Weaver can be, at times, harsh, but she knows what's good for you and she would *never* make you work in your condition!"  
"What?" it was Dave's turn to look shocked, "It's no big deal, really! And she knows it. I mean, everyone gets it and it's not like it's deadly or anything..."  
"Do you know what you have?" Peter asked, disbelieving, "I'm not sure but it has something to do with Hantavirus and that is pretty serious!"  
"Hantavirus?" Dave asked, aghast, "All I have is the flue! She said nothing about Hantavirus!"  
"Wait... Did you know you had the flue?"  
"Well, yeah! But I got a little overheated and sorta passed out and Abby insisted on running tests. I think she was way overreacting."  
"So... Who does have the Hantavirus disease?" Peter asked, and then it hit him.  
  
"Kayla?" Carter's eyes were wide with shock and fear. This reaction was slightly different than Abby suspected.  
"Yes," she confirmed, simply.  
"K-Kay-Kayla J-Jameson?" Carter stammered.  
"Why do you sound so scarred?" Abby asked. Carter closed his eyes, swallowed hard, and collected himself.  
"Abby," he said, calmly, "I need you to run a few tests."  
"On Kayla?"  
"No," he said seriously, "On me."  
"Why?"  
"Because I think I have it, too,"  



	2. Conspiracy Theory

Chapter 2: Conspiracy Theory  
  
"Carter, what are you saying exactly?" Abby asked, carefully.  
"I'm saying I may be infected with this thing!" Carter shouted.  
"Sh! Carter, not so loud!" Abby said, trying to calm him down.  
"You're right, you're right, I'm sorry..."  
"How do you think you became infected?"  
"When we were taking her blood?"  
"Yeah, what about it?" Abby asked.  
"Well, she lashed out in delirium."  
"She was delirious?"  
"Abby, she has a fever of 103, you would be too!"  
"Yeah, yeah, go on, what happened?"  
"Well, her mother staggered backwards and knocked over some glass containers and I dropped the needle…" Carter trailed off.  
"So?"  
"Well, I punctured the vein and it began to bleed freely for some reason. I cleaned the wound and got some of her blood on my hands…"  
"And..." Abby asked, waiting for Carter to answer. When he didn't she said, "What did you do, Carter?"  
"Well..."  
"What did you do!?"  
"I then bent to clean up the mess of glass, lids and plastic containers..."  
"With gloves?" Abby asked, knowing the answer.  
"Well, I had just taken them off before the injection. When I bent to clean it, I cut my finger on the glass… I think my blood may have mixed with hers…"  
"WHAT?!" Abby screamed, "You're joking!"  
"I'm not!" Carter said. Abby nodded, realizing how serious this situation was.  
"All right. I need to take some blood. I'll be right back," she said. As she turned, Carter coughed. She spun back around immediately.  
"What was that?" she demanded.  
"Just a cough!" Carter protested, but then coughed again, this time more fiercely. He led on to the wall to stay up. Abby helped him to. He held his hand to his mouth as he coughed. When he took it away, there was blood on his hands. Not a patient's blood, not Kayla's blood, but his own. At the sight of this, his eyes widened, as did Abby's.  
"Screw the tests!" she said. She swung Carter's arm around her shoulder and led him into an exam room. She sat him down on the bed.  
"Stay here!" she said. She poked her head out the door and saw Luka on his way down the hall.  
"Hey Abby!" he said, "My shift ends soon, how about"  
"Oh, sorry, Luka, for doing this to you right before your shift ends, but could you come her for a minute?" Abby said, feeling bad. Luka sighed and came over.  
"Yes?" he asked, sounding reluctant.  
"There's a young female, around eleven years old, and she's very sick..."  
"Why can't you take her?"   
"Luka, I'm *very* busy with something else right now!" she said, her tone almost pleading him not to ask anything more.  
"OK. What's wrong?"  
"Well, I have no idea, Carter's not feeling well, so-"  
"No, I mean, what's wrong with the girl?"  
"Oh, that!" Abby said, relieved, "Well, her blood shows she's carrying cells very similar to Hantavirus and with the symptoms, but-"  
"Then it's Hantavirus. All right, I will ask them the routine questions, but then-"  
"There's more," Abby smiled, despite herself. She knew Luka had interrupted her hoping to leave and just do the routine questions and leave, but that wouldn't happen. Luka sighed.  
"What?" he asked.  
"Well, there are also things in her blood that's kind of new to me... But I know what it is."  
"What is it?" Luka asked impatiently.  
"The Smallpox virus," Luka stared at her, surprised, "This combination makes the symptoms appear twice as fast as they normally would. Do you think you can handle this?"  
"I guess..."  
"Great! She's just across the hall!" Abby said and disappeared behind the door. Luka looked at the ceiling.  
"After all I've done, this is what you do!" he said to it and entered the room across the hall.  
"Who are you?" asked a red-haired woman.  
"My name is Dr. Kovac. Abby is busy right now and I am filling in for her. I'm sorry, she was so wrapped up she forgot to tell me your name!"  
"I'm Paula Jameson. This is my daughter Kayla," she said, gesturing to a girl with strawberry-blond hair on the bed. She smiled weakly. She looked so pail and fragile that Luka couldn't leave them like this.  
"But what happened to Dr. Carter?" Mrs. Jameson asked.  
"Carter?"  
"Yes."  
"Abby said he was feeling a little sick."  
"Oh, all right. How's Kayla?"  
"Mrs. Jameson, your daughter..."  
"Is it the flue?" Kayla asked, hopefully, "Because that's what I told my mom it was but she didn't believe me."  
"Uh... It's not the flue," Luka said. Mrs. Jameson looked concerned.  
"What?" she asked, "Then what is it?"  
"Mrs. Jameson, does your daughter have some sort of job, or a relative who owns a farm?"  
"No."  
"Has she been out lately in any forests like when she was camping or hiking?"  
"Uh... Yes! Yes she has! She went hiking with her uncle two weeks ago!"  
"Really?" Luka asked, "Mrs. Jameson, your daughter has a very rare combination of two types of diseases. In fact I've never even seen it before! No, I never even knew it existed."  
"Two diseases?" Mrs. Jameson asked, "How is that possible? What are they?"  
"Well, one is Hantavirus..."  
"Hantavirus? What's that?" Kayla asked.  
"It's a respiratory illness," Luka replied.  
"And the other?"  
"I have no idea how she could have contracted the other. A case hasn't been seen in at least one hundred years... Supposedly it was erased."  
"What is it?" Mrs. Jameson asked.  
"It's Smallpox," Luka replied, "And it can be contagious."  
"Smallpox?!" Mrs. Jameson shook her head. She could not believe what she was hearing, "No, you have it wrong!"  
"Mrs. Jameson, if I could just speak to the father-"  
"He's out of town!" she said, interrupting him.  
"Where?" Luka asked, calmly.  
"Washington DC. Some government project..."  
"Government project?" this got Luka's interest, "Has Kayla gone to visit her father?" Mrs. Jameson shook her head, a tear in her eye.  
"No," she answered, "No, she has not. And even if she did what would it matter? He's a military man! He can't watch a young girl when in the middle of something important!"  
"You're husband's with the military?" Luka was becoming more and more interested in this case. He felt as if he was stepping into a government conspiracy, which, he reminded himself, I very well might be.  
"Yes! Why is it important?"  
"It is important because if Kayla visited her father in Washington, perhaps she could have contracted the virus over there!" What he wanted to say was that maybe the government had the Smallpox virus contained and they were using relatives of military men as test subjects but he knew, even in his head, it sounded like the plot for some bad movie.  
"No," Mrs. Jameson shook her head firmly, "No she has not seen her father for a month!"  
"Very well, thank you for your cooperation," Luka gave them a smile and informed them Abby would be in shortly. He walked across the hall to the room he had seen Abby in. He was about to open it when it opened from the inside and Abby appeared.  
"Luka!" she said, shocked, "You scared me!"  
"Sorry," Luka apologized, "The girl went hiking with her uncle two weeks ago and her father is with the military but according to the mother, she hasn't seen him for a month."  
"Thank you, Luka," Abby said and kissed him.  
"Well you're welcome!" he smiled.  
"You can leave if you want now."  
"How's Carter?" Luka tried to look over Abby into the room but Abby made sure he didn't see. Abby glanced behind her.  
"Um... I'm not sure..."  
"Tell him I hope he's OK!"  
"Sure thing!" Abby said and watched him leave. She turned back to Carter who was shaking violently on the bed. She walked over to him. He curled himself into a ball like a small child. He closed his eyes and tried to force himself to stop.  
"My back hurts," he muttered.  
"Hantavirus," Abby told him. Suddenly, the door burst open.  
"Abby? It's Dave," said Peter.  
"What about him?"  
"This is no flue..."  



	3. Stupidity

Chapter 3: Stupidity  
  
Peter took Abby by the hand abruptly and ran down the hall. He pulled her into a room. Dave was on hands and knees on the floor, coughing non-stop. His breath was heavy and Abby realized he was having difficulty breathing. He looked up at them, a pleading look on his face. He was pale.  
"But... The tests-"  
"Must have been wrong," Peter finished for her, "What's going on?"  
"I... I don't know! Whatever it is, Carter has it too," Abby swallowed hard,  
"CARTER?!" Peter was surprised, "The other test results were Carter's?" Abby nodded, slowly, "How the heck did they get sick?"  
"Well, Carter caught it from a patient but I don't know how Dave-" she stopped as she remembered something, "Wait. I have to go see Carter."  
"But-"  
"Give me two seconds!" Abby called to Peter as she ran down the hall. She entered the room where Carter was shivering and sweating at the same time. His back was to her.  
"Oh my God!" she said and ran over to him, "Carter, you have to tell me, did Dave see Kayla today?" Carter didn't reply, "Carter?" was alarmed by his silence. He turned him over so he was facing her. His eyes were closed and his breath was struggled.  
"Oh God!" Abby said again, "Someone get in here NOW!" Jing-Mei Chen appeared in the door.  
"Abby, what's going on?" then, she gasped.  
"Carter!" she exclaimed and ran over to help Abby.  
"Abby, why'd you-" Mark cut himself off and ran to help Dr. Chen.  
"Can you handle him? I have to get back to see if Dave's Ok," Abby said.  
"What's wrong with Dave?" Mark asked. But before Abby could answer, there was a scream from across the hall.  
"Doctor! Someone, help!" Abby's eyes widened in fear.  
"Kayla," she sighed and ran across the hall. She burst in. Kayla was having a seizure.  
"She was just..." Paula began. Kayla began to thrash about.  
"Uh..." Abby didn't know what to do. This was too much, "I need a doctor in here NOW!" she yelled. Elizabeth Corday came in.  
"Abby!" she said and ran to the bed, "I need 20 CCs of Haladol!" She shouted.  
"Get away! No, get away! I hate you, I hate you!" Kayla was screaming. Abby yelped in pain as Kayla dug her nails into Abby's wrist and forced her to lean in closer.  
"Don't let him do this to me! Please! He's hurting me!" she shrieked. Abby was puzzled.  
"Who?" she asked.  
"Daddy!" Kayla answered. The Haladol began to kick in and her grip loosened.  
"We should get some restraints," Elizabeth said, "In case this happens again. Abby, a word?" Elizabeth motioned for Abby to join her outside. Abby was still puzzling over what the child had said.  
"Abby, this girl..."  
"Oh!" Abby said, "She has, well, actually, um, I have almost no idea what she has!"  
"What?" Elizabeth looked surprised, "What do you mean?"  
"Well, it's all new to me! The cells seem similar to a super-combination of two diseases,"  
"A super disease, Abby?" Elizabeth chuckled.  
"Work with me here!" Abby replied, "The two diseases that the cells resemble seem to be that of... Well, fluid and white blood cells have accumulated the lungs and so now she has hypoxia. She seems to be in the late stages of whatever this disease is. This syndrome, I believe, is being caused by the Hantaan part of the disease..."  
"Are you saying the girl has the Hantavirus?"  
"Not just any Hantavirus, Dr. Corday, but Sin Nombre. The other part of the disease is relatively new to me... I mean, I've read about it, but I have never seen it in any of the patients before. I have reason to believe it's Smallpox..."  
"WHAT?" Corday asked.  
"It's all there! All the evidence of Smallpox! The characteristic rash, the delirium, and her fever's returning, meaning the disease is in its second stage! This is nothing to be handled lightly-"  
"And yet you walk in and out of there as if this disease is as harmless to you as a fly! And you let the mother stay in there all day with the girl! Abby, how do you know that one of these doctors isn't infected with this disease because of your carelessness?" Elizabeth demanded. Abby looked down.  
"I know that there are at least two doctors that are infected with the illness, Dr. Corday. And they are Dave Malucci and John Carter," Elizabeth's eyes widened.  
"Get all three of the victims into isolation this minute! And have yourself and the mother tested for any signs of the disease, which, may I remind you, is highly contagious as seems to be the stupidity around here!" Elizabeth threw her hands into the air.  
"I... I'm sorry. I will," Abby said.   
"No, Abby, I'm sorry for yelling. It's just so frustrating with all the confusion around here. It's getting on my nerves..."  
"You had a right to shout, Dr. Corday," Abby told her. When Corday left, she spoke with the mother, saying that she may have to test for the disease. The mother agreed, reluctantly, and let Abby take a sample of her blood.  
Soon after, Abby went over to Carter's room and informed Jing-Mei and Mark that Carter was contagious and to get him into quarantine.  
She then traveled to Dave's room where Benton and Kerry were trying to help Dave and told them the same thing.  
"Dr. Benton, Dr. Weaver, the disease that Dave has is highly contagious. We need to get him into quarantine and the initial carrier as well."  
"Do you know the initial carrier?" Benton asked the same question Jing-Mei had asked.  
"Yeah. A girl named Kayla Jameson. Her mother is being tested. Hurry up!" she left and she passed Cleo in the hall.  
"Cleo!" she said, "Could you do me a favor and make sure that Kayla Jameson makes it up to quarantine?"  
"Quarantine?" Cleo asked, "Uh, sure."  
"Thanks," She took the two blood samples she had collected and went up to lab.  



	4. Theory Confirmed

Chapter 4: Theory confirmed  
  
Paula Jameson was in quarantine, though it had not been proven she had the illness. She was fairly angered by it, but didn't mind as much. Abby was the one who wasn't cooperating. She knew she had to be quarantined, but she also knew that she wasn't sick. She didn't know how, but she did. She looked over through the window to the next room and saw Paula pacing around. She tapped on the glass and Paula looked up. Her eyes widened and, since you couldn't be heard through the glass, she scrawled a quick note on her hand with a pen.  
"I'll tell you everything," was what it said.  
"What do you mean?" Abby mouthed, slowly. Paula but her lip and wrote on her hand again.  
"You're lucky my brother was deaf. I can lip read!" she smiled. Abby rolled her eyes.  
"That's all very nice, but what do you mean?" she asked, becoming impatient. Paula looked around the room for another piece of paper, not wanting to write on her hand again. Reluctantly, she took out a pen.  
"Not like this. Can I talk to you face to face?" Abby read. She bit her lip then went to the door.  
"HEY!" she screamed, hoping someone heard, "HEY! I'm not sick, OK? Just let me out!" she banged on the door.  
"Whoa, easy there!" Luka came to the door and pressed the intercom, "What is it, Abby?"  
"Luka! Get me out of here, I feel fine!"  
"Well... I don't know, Abby..."  
"Luka, I am angry and frustrated. LET ME OUT!"  
"Abby, please!" Luka's voice was stern, "We are doing this for everyone's safety! How do you know you do not have this disease?"  
"I... I... I just know, OK? Please, Luka, help me!" her voice was pleading and Luka took pity on her, then shook it off.  
"No, no, I am sorry, Abby, but I can't..." Luka shook his head. Abby sighed.  
"Fine. Then could you do me a favor?" Abby asked.  
"It depends. If it has anything to do with me letting you out then the answer's-"  
"No, Luka, it's Paula. Could you talk to her for me? She has something important to tell me but she can't through this damn glass! Tell her I sent you in," Abby told him. Luka hesitated, then nodded. Abby watched him walk over to Paula's room.  
"Mrs. Jameson?" he said, using the intercom.  
"Yes?"  
"Abby can't speak with you right now, but she wants me to see what you want to tell her."  
"Uh... Kovac, right?"  
"Yes," Luka said.  
"Could you come in here and talk? I don't really want to be overheard..."  
"Alright, in a minute," Luka said, preparing to enter a quarantined room, sporting the proper attire. He entered, with a mask covering his mouth, and wearing gloves.  
"Yes?"  
"I would have told you sooner except Don said it was top secret. I wasn't even supposed to know about it. But the reason I am telling you now is because now I see it is getting out of hand..." Paula began to pace up and down the room again.  
"What are you talking about, Mrs. Jameson?"  
"Please, call me Paula," Paula said, "I'm talking about Kayla. This disease... Well... Where are you from, Dr. Kovac?"  
"What?" Luka was startled by the question.  
"Well, judging by your accent I know English isn't your first language. Where are you from?"  
"What does this have to do with anything?" Luka asked, suspiciously.  
"Telling an American citizen is bad, but telling someone who isn't an American citizen is worse, says my husband. They could be a spy. So, are you a spy?" she pressed. Luka was shocked.  
"Ma'am, I am no spy, this I promise you, but you are correct, I am originally Croatian. But I assure you, I am not a spy. I am a doctor and I need to know what's going on. Your daughter, and two, possibly three doctors, has contracted this disease and you might have too. I need to know how they all contracted this rare disease and if it means uncovering secrets you shouldn't normally uncover, then so be it. But I am not going to stand by and watch your daughter and my friends die just for the sake of your secrets!" Luka tried to keep his voice calm. Maybe this *was* a government conspiracy he was getting into. Paula sighed.  
"I didn't mean to question, Doctor, but I have to keep my husbands secrets. If you promise that this knowledge I am about to bestow upon you does not get out of hand, then I can tell you what I believe is going on with my daughter..." she paused and Luka waited for her to continue. He then realized that she was waiting for an agreement from him that he would use this knowledge wisely and he nodded. Paula continued, "Very well. Dr. Kovac, in Washington DC, where my husband, Donald Jameson has been working for the past six months, they are developing a secret weapon that they intend to use against enemy troops. A weapon so tiny you can't even see it, but so effective, it can wipe out an army in just a few days, maybe hours. What weapon, you ask? A disease. An extinct disease for which there is no vaccine. A disease with which ninety-nine out of one hundred people die from easily. The Smallpox virus. But since this disease was created in a lab, when mixed with a normal virus like the flue, it can be twice as more harmful. But to something like Hantavirus... I can't imagine the effects. My only guess as to how Kayla got this disease is when she was visiting her father a few days ago, she followed him into his office one day, to see where he works. She could have contracted the disease there. Now, I fear it is spreading among your staff and maybe even be in me. I can only hope this helps you," Paula concluded her fascinating tale. Luka stared at her with amazement and fear.  
"I... I have to go. Carter," he said, standing up and jogging to the door.  
"Please help them!" Paula called after him. Luka ran down the hall with no idea what he was going to do. He sprinted into Carter's room and hated the sight that met his eyes.  
"Damn it, no!" Peter screamed, trying the difribulators on Carter once more. But there was the monotonous sound of a dead heartbeat.  
"Time of death, 22:42," Elizabeth said, tonelessly.  
  
  
  
OK  
OK  
OK, I know you are probably all pretty mad at me right now for ending a chapter this way, but I'm SORRY! I love Carter, too, you know! And I wouldn't let him die unless there was something really important (Or I had a trick up my sleeve) ;). So keep a look out for chapter 5 coming out real soon and review this chapter while you are waiting (though most of them will probably be flames like "OMG you killed Carter! You b******!")  



	5. Does Abby Hold the Key?

Chapter 5: Does Abby hold the key?  
  
Luka bit his lip, afraid to say anything. But suddenly, there was the welcoming beep, beep, beep, of the ECG.  
"What the..." Elizabeth started and dismissed it, a look of pure joy came on her face, "He's alive! Carter's alive!" he was alive, but far from well. He began to convulse with violent seizures. As Elizabeth worked on him, Luka motioned to Peter.  
"Dr. Benton!" he called.  
"In a minute, Dr. Kovac!" Peter said, calmly, still working on Carter. His seizure died down and soon, he was stabilized, but still unconscious. Peter gave Elizabeth a look, using his eyes to ask her if it would be all right to speak to Luka. Elizabeth nodded and Peter turned his back to Carter and faced Luka, glancing sadly once over his shoulder at Carter, drenched in perspiration.  
"Yes, Dr. Kovac?" he asked.  
"Dr. Benton, I know the cause of this disease! Kayla, Kayla is the key! She contracted the Smallpox virus in Washington DC while staying with her father- please, how is unimportant right now. The virus was created in a lab, and thus, it is artificial. But when it is combined with some simple virus, such as the Flue, it can be very, very... bad," bad. For lack of a better word, Luka used 'bad.'  
"And the Hantavirus?" Peter asked.  
"That was contracted when she was hiking in the woods with her uncle, after the Smallpox virus, I believe. And since the Smallpox virus mixed with the Flue is bad, the virus mixed with a hemorrhagic fever such as Sin Nombre, the Hantavirus in question, must be very, very, *very* bad!" Luka said. Peter's eyes widened and he looked back at Carter.  
"Abby said Carter got the disease by accidentally mixing his own blood with hers, but how did Dave get it?" Peter asked. Luka shrugged, "Go see Dr. Chen and Dr. Weaver," Peter ordered. Luka nearly saluted him because the way Peter said the command was as if he were a colonel giving orders to a troop. Luka sprinted down the hall to Dave's room and noticed Dave's pale complexion and damp sheets, but shivering and struggling to breath. Jing-Mei was about to inject Ribavirin, and antiviral drug used for hemorrhagic fevers into Dave's system, when Luka stopped her.  
"Dr. Chen, wait!" he cried. Kerry and Jing-Mei both looked up at Luka.  
"Why?" they both asked. Luka repeated what he told Peter to the two women.  
"What?" they said, simultaneously again.  
"Where did you hear this?" Kerry asked. Luka was surprised by the question.  
"Uh... Paula. Why?"  
"Paula? Paula who?" Jing-Mei asked.  
"Paula Jameson. Kayla's mother."  
"How does she know this?" Kerry persisted.  
"Please, Kerry, I can't say! I am not allowed!"  
"Damn it, Luka, it's important I know what is going on!"  
"But I promised Paula!" Luka told her, "Please!" Kerry was about to object when Dave suddenly interrupted them, falling into a seizure. Luka made his exit, wordlessly, and went down the hall. As he was on his way to see Kayla, he ran into someone.  
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Luka said, helping the man pick up his papers.  
"Have you seen Dr. Weaver?" the man asked.  
"Uh, yes but I don't think you would want to talk to her right now..."  
"Maybe I can tell you. Do you know a girl named Abby Lockhart?" the man asked.  
"Yes. Oh God, is she infected?" Luka asked, knowing full well that that was the reason Abby was in quarantine. The man ignored his question.  
"We have her test results..."  
"Is she infected?" Luka repeated.  
"Oh no, quite the contrary!" the man said, "She, Doctor, is the cure!"  
"What?" Luka asked, thinking he heard incorrectly.  
"I said, Doctor, that she is the cure! You were correct in saying that the disease is in her blood. However, they are not duplicating half as fast as they are in another patient's, say Dr. Malucci's. Her cells have found away to suffocate the disease sufficiently so that the cells slowly decrease in number," The man was smiling.  
"How is this possible in her blood and not in Dr. Malucci's?" Luka asked.  
"Have you seen Abby take in more of a substance lately, any substance. Particularly that with sugar?" caffeine?" Luka thought for a moment and remembered taking Abby out to lunch the other day. He fell into a flashback.  
  
"Abby, do you need all that sugar?" Luka asked, laughing slightly as Abby poured the sweet powder into her coffee.  
"Sure!" Abby said.  
"But, you don't normally eat that much sugar. Are you sure it's healthy?"  
"Trust me, after a month at my cousins, where all you eat is milk and lima beans, you need sugar!" Abby answered, "It's healthy enough!"  
  
"Yes..."  
"Her blood sugar is high, but amazingly, that's what saved her! It's suffocating the virus out of her system!"  
"And..."  
"Well, this means that, once I study Abby's blood more clearly, I can find a cure!"  
"What about Mrs. Jameson?" Luka asked.  
"She hasn't seemed to contracted the disease at all," said the man. *So Kayla's not the key, Abby is,* Luka thought.  



End file.
